The ‘dry pile’ (so-called due to the lack of a liquid electrolyte) designed in 1812 by the Italian physicist Giuseppe Zamboni (1776-1846) consists of a stack of paper discs, each with manganese dioxide powder glued on one face and a thin sheet of tin on the other. The discs are tied together with thin silk threads and covered with a solid insulator. The pile’s positive terminal is connected to the manganese dioxide, and the negative one to the tin.

Three dry cells tightly bound together are enclosed inside a glass tube; one of the terminals of each one is connected to the knob in the cap and the other terminals are connected to the base of the instrument. The glass is coated externally with an insulating varnish.

Device on display.